Seoul, Wednesday 1 August 2012 – Asia Society Korea Center has formally launched the Search and Correct Campaign(SCC), a comprehensive effort to upgrade South Korea's international communication utilizing crowdsourcing and social media. The SCC will build upon Korea's already significant strides in embracing globalization. Multilingual information is available in much of the country, from road signs to restaurant menus. Korea's people also devote a significant portion of their time and income to international education efforts, including foreign language proficiency, which they view as crucial in engaging a global community and remaining competitive in an international marketplace.

One of the SCC's two core initiatives, the Korean-English Translation Correction Project, seeks to enhance the clarity of Korea's multilingual messages. “Awkward 'Konglish' translations can sometimes confuse international visitors to Korea,” said Asia Society Korea Center’s Executive Director Yvonne Kim. “The SCC will turn to Asia Society's educated bilingual community, including the Asia 21 organization of young global leaders, to recommend changes that leave no doubt about the intended message,” she said. The second SCC core initiative, the Textbook Correction Project, seeks to fine-tune the global education of future young Korean leaders. The project will target inaccuracies and biased perceptions in Korean school textbooks and other summations of world history, eliminating misinterpretations that can undermine efforts by young Koreans to formulate a truly international mindset.

The SCC advisory committee is comprised of prominent leaders from a variety of sectors – government, business, civil society, media, and academia. Committee members will curate a much broader range of volunteer contributions solicited via popular social media platforms. The committee's work will take place between August and December of 2012, culminating in a set of formal recommendations to the Korean government and the awarding of certificates of appreciation to student participants. The public can follow the progress of the campaign via social media platforms and at www.askcorrect.com.

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